Latest / Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News / Time, talent, and treasure can make all the difference

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Time, talent, and treasure can make all the difference · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

• 0:00
  As God intended.
• 0:02
  Let's go.
• 0:20
  Hello, hello.
• 0:21
  This is Dr.
• 0:22
  Angie Farella.
• 0:23
  And I am here today to just be so thankful for you all.
• 0:30
  It's after Thanksgiving.
• 0:31
  We're in the holiday season.
• 0:32
  It's a great time for giving.
• 0:34
  And so today we are going to talk a little bit about the winter months.
• 0:40
  And since we are in the gift giving season, things that will affect our health and well-being during this time, because as you know, the days are getting shorter.
• 0:49
  And with the short days and less sunlight, sometimes it does affect our health.
• 0:53
  A lot of times it affects people more than they'll ever even claim that it does.
• 0:59
  And so we are going to discuss these topics today, as well as some fun things like great gift ideas to give someone who is health conscious.
• 1:09
  There are so many different products to choose from.
• 1:11
  And when you are choosing, I would highly recommend that you go on our America Out Loud dot news shop.
• 1:20
  And if you go on to that shop, use the coupon code out loud because there are a very big plethora of products in there that are just so great for your body.
• 1:33
  And you can try all kinds of new things, like the bear bar, for instance.
• 1:38
  It's a savory bar, it's not your typical energy bar, but it is very, very tasty.
• 1:44
  And it's a great adjunct to some of your days' activities.
• 1:48
  Like if you like to take hikes and walks, a long walk, that is a great companion for you to take with you.
• 1:54
  It's very healthy, it tastes great, and there's now more flavors for you to choose from.
• 2:01
  Go on to that shop and just think about your people that you love and hold dear to you, and maybe pick out something new for them to try.
• 2:12
  This is kind of what I do on a daily basis is I think about people and where they are in their life and what how can I make the day a brighter day for them?
• 2:24
  This is one of those topics now in December.
• 2:27
  We just got out of Thanksgiving.
• 2:28
  We're still in the in the season of giving and being grateful and being thankful for all that we are given, and also all the things that we are exposed to in our lives that are a positive force for us to move forward and look towards the future.
• 2:49
  You know, that is the classic definition of hope.
• 2:52
  And this is the season of hope.
• 2:54
  This is the season of faith.
• 2:56
  And so I really want to encourage my listeners to pay attention to that when because it it can become what I call ordered chaos in November and December.
• 3:07
  And sometimes we just have to slow down to speed up.
• 3:10
  Sometimes we need to reflect on what we are grateful for and what we are very excited to be a part of and what the joy of the season brings.
• 3:22
  But don't forget there are people out there that are still grieving losses and have a really hard time with this time of year.
• 3:31
  And so use your joy and use your compassion and empathy towards those people who may have some struggles during this season.
• 3:44
  You know, maybe reach out to them and invite them into your home for some kind of festive holiday um celebration, or if you do like a cookie exchange or a baking day, or decorating of the tree day or something of that nature.
• 4:02
  Why don't you invite them in and try to share a little bit of your joy with someone who may be struggling and may be lonely this season?
• 4:10
  So let's get into it.
• 4:11
  We're going to talk about uh some top gifts to maybe brighten up someone's day um during this season.
• 4:19
  So, you know, I have this knack for kind of grouping my gifts on an annual basis.
• 4:27
  You know, it's really hard to think of gifts for people, especially if you have a pretty long list.
• 4:32
  And I can tell you, I try to always pay attention to what someone is talking about as far as their likes and their dislikes, specifically for their dislikes, believe it or not, because you don't want to give a gift that kind of annoys them or makes them feel that you don't know them well, and so I really do pay attention to that because I'll be honest, there are certain things that when I get them as gifts, uh it you're cringing on the inside, putting a fake smile on the outside, but that same gift may just completely rock someone else's world, right?
• 5:06
  And I can give you a great example.
• 5:09
  I am not the person to give a gift card to.
• 5:13
  I'm just gonna be honest.
• 5:14
  I have a pile of gift cards in my wallet, probably from the time that my 20-year-old daughter um was about five, and I kid you not.
• 5:25
  I just don't use them.
• 5:26
  I forget that I have them.
• 5:27
  I find it to be um not just wasteful for that poor person, but it's really wasteful for me because some of those gift cards I'll never use.
• 5:37
  I I wouldn't use them anyway.
• 5:39
  I just don't, I just don't think in that matter.
• 5:42
  Some people absolutely love gift cards, they think it's the greatest thing on the planet.
• 5:45
  They think they can just, you know, go and use that gift card and make themselves the happiest human being on planet earth.
• 5:52
  And I and bless you for if you're that person.
• 5:54
  I'm just not that way.
• 5:56
  I'm just not that way.
• 5:58
  And honestly, I know it's with great intention, but I tell people all the time, please don't give me gift cards.
• 6:04
  And the other thing that I really really don't like are candles.
• 6:07
  I know that sounds like so unusual for a female to say that she doesn't like candles.
• 6:13
  Um, I just don't, I'm not a candle girl, I don't like to burn candles in my house.
• 6:18
  Um, some of those things give me headaches, so you know, and I'm very scent sensitive, and so I think that's probably one reason.
• 6:26
  But I also have some PTSD over a candle about 15, no, probably over that now.
• 6:33
  It's probably been 20, 25 years now.
• 6:35
  I walked into a um a church and um it was the church office, actually, and I had my jacket over my arm because it was a cold day, and I flipped around and they had a candle burning on a very low like coffee table kind of thing, right inside the door.
• 6:52
  And when I turned to shut the door, my jacket caught the candle and spilled all down my leg.
• 6:58
  And um, I was just so grateful it was me and not a small child, honestly.
• 7:02
  Um, but it ruined my jacket, and I remember being just so torn up about it that I um I didn't even know what to do because you know I'm in a church office.
• 7:12
  How am I gonna ask them to replace my jacket?
• 7:14
  But um, and it was a brand new jacket too.
• 7:16
  That's the other thing that upset me.
• 7:17
  But you know, all in all, it all turned out fine.
• 7:20
  But you know, I was like, this is one of the reasons why I don't like candles because it's just one of those things that is just a hazard waiting to happen, I think is really what I the way I look at it in my life.
• 7:32
  Um, but you know, some people love those things again, you know, there are people like my daughters go shopping for their friends all the time and buy candles.
• 7:40
  I just I think that's great that those people that are receiving those candles are wonderful, think it's wonderful, but me personally, just not a thing, right?
• 7:48
  So, so what are some things that that you may really enjoy that other people might not right?
• 7:56
  Think of that.
• 7:57
  And here's the thing is it really does follow some of the you remember the you may have read the book, um you know, love languages, right?
• 8:05
  And there's five different love languages, and I can tell you that my particular love language is words of affirmation.
• 8:14
  So anything that has like a positive quote on it or a reminder of um something just very impressing.
• 8:24
  Um, that that's my one of my love languages.
• 8:27
  And the second love language is service.
• 8:29
  I mean, trust me, if someone would say, Hey, can I wash your car four times in the next year?
• 8:34
  I'd probably do backflips because I that is not something I like to do, but I'll tell you what, if someone wants to wash my car, I'm very excited about that.
• 8:42
  I know again, sounds crazy, but that's really where I'm at.
• 8:46
  So, you know, when we're talking about getting someone a gift, right?
• 8:51
  You have to kind of think in the back of your head.
• 8:55
  Um, this is something intimate.
• 8:57
  So you really have to think, what do they like, what don't they like?
• 9:02
  What um, and more so, I think to focus on what they don't like even more because if you if you avoid those things, then they're pretty much gonna like everything else that you give them, right?
• 9:14
  I tend to be a person who gives gifts in themes, and I know that again sounds crazy, but that's kind of just how my brain works, and so um I try to get things like so one year, it was frames, and I bought beautiful frames and um for family members.
• 9:36
  I took those frames and I took pictures, we got professional pictures of my children, and we put them in the frames and we gave them to our family members.
• 9:44
  And that is a that's actually a very good cherished gift for people that are very close to you, like grand, you know, my children's grandparents love those things.
• 9:54
  Um, and they would display them and they were in a very nice um frame, so you didn't have to worry about.
• 10:00
  The picture not being displayed properly, or that it just goes in a drawer because oh, I have to go buy a frame for that, and they just forget about it.
• 10:08
  Um, so frames was one of my things, and one year I actually handmade this really cool.
• 10:15
  Well, I thought it was really cool.
• 10:16
  This really cool um iron object.
• 10:20
  It was iron, and then what I did was I tied many frames into this iron object.
• 10:26
  Um, and it gave the sense of a very unique gift, and it was very unique because no one's ever going to have that same exact thing ever again.
• 10:36
  Um, it may not have been appreciated, but I enjoyed making it.
• 10:40
  I enjoyed putting the little pictures in there.
• 10:44
  Um, actually, I think one of the relatives still has that hanging up in their home somewhere, as I remember.
• 10:51
  And it was it's just something different, right?
• 10:53
  It's something unique and different that no one's gonna be able to find anywhere else.
• 10:58
  The other thing um that I gave one year was um I did give what I would consider the active services out.
• 11:08
  So I bought car wash supplies and car washes, like when you can go and buy a ticket to the car wash, and I gave my relatives coupons or like gift cards that you can go and use this card to get your car washed every time.
• 11:28
  And then I gave them some car wash um stuff, like you know Windex for the windshield and things of that nature, and it was actually very well received.
• 11:40
  One year I did the same thing with barbecue stuff, um, you know, between spices and rubs and sauces and aprons and um barbecue utensils and tools.
• 11:53
  That was another thing that was very, very well received.
• 11:55
  So every once in a while I'll come about a gift idea, and I try to spread it out, and I try to make it something that a whole family can enjoy.
• 12:06
  And that is where my brain kind of goes to every year is like what can the family enjoy.
• 12:13
  One year we gave um gifts of like favorite restaurants.
• 12:19
  So, yes, again, I don't like the whole gift card thing.
• 12:25
  But this was a gift card specifically to a favorite restaurant that I knew one of my relatives absolutely loved and would use within months.
• 12:34
  And so we we gave them that, and that was very well received.
• 12:38
  Um, we have given things like um favorite sauces and stuff from restaurants we have in Texas.
• 12:48
  You know, we have the Whataburger, and now it's no longer just a Texan commodity, but years ago, um, whataburger put out their sauces, like their um their spicy ketchup and their ketchup and so other things too.
• 13:03
  And so I made like a variety pack with Whataburger.
• 13:07
  I have relatives that absolutely love going to the movies, not my bag, but I put a movie box together for them with um some tickets for them to use that were non um they didn't expire.
• 13:23
  You know, you just go and you chart change them in for your actual ticket when you decide to go to the movies.
• 13:29
  That was very well received.
• 13:31
  I have done books, and I think I try to use books.
• 13:34
  Books sometimes can be hard, right?
• 13:36
  But I try to again assimilate buying a book that I've either heard that they really enjoyed or an author that they really enjoy, or a topic they really enjoy, and then go and find books, magazines, or other things that kind of go along that same theme.
• 13:57
  You know, once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a show called Friends, right?
• 14:01
  And you see all their paraphernalia out there now.
• 14:04
  T-shirts and all kinds of mugs and everything, and we do have a close family friend that um loves and appreciates um the friends um things, the friends show.
• 14:23
  And so that's one, another one that you know I tried to assimilate with.
• 14:30
  So this is some of the highlights of when I'm thinking about gift giving.
• 14:37
  The other thing that I really really enjoy giving is the gift of health.
• 14:41
  Um, and what does that mean?
• 14:43
  Well, you know, there are some people that really enjoy going to the gym, so a gym membership or partial gym membership, or maybe why don't you give them a couple of new classes to try?
• 14:55
  You know, like if they've never tried Pilates, you know, get a class or two for them for Pilates or yoga or a spin class or something of that nature, because that is a great opportunity to um have someone try something that they've never tried before, and maybe that is what they're looking for, an opportunity to try something new.
• 15:16
  How about ballroom dancing classes?
• 15:18
  How about um a silks class?
• 15:22
  Now, I I could tell you from just my daughter does silks and it is very strenuous.
• 15:27
  It's a very tough class to take.
• 15:30
  Um, but man, is it a workout?
• 15:32
  Maybe you do a um a nature walk or if you or a nature uh park where they can go and walk in nature and you can get a membership or donate in their name to that nature park, nature center.
• 15:47
  We we have one of those really close by here as well.
• 15:51
  And so, you know, giving the gift of health is a great opportunity for you to take part in really making someone feel and look and just do better, right?
• 16:06
  It's really unusual for us to find someone that cares about our health just as much as we do.
• 16:12
  And I I'm saying that as a doctor, which is a pretty crazy statement.
• 16:16
  But we all know that we have to take charge of our own health.
• 16:20
  And you know what?
• 16:21
  It's really great if you have a friend or a sponsor or an accountability partner, right?
• 16:26
  Well, that's a great way to do an accountability partner.
• 16:30
  If you got a class with your friend, do something different.
• 16:34
  You know, go to a Pilates class or spin class or something that you both never tried before.
• 16:40
  There's all kinds of things that you can try and jump in and and you know, see if you like it.
• 16:46
  You may find your newest best exercise ever, like a hip hop class or something.
• 16:52
  I don't know.
• 16:52
  Well, you know what?
• 16:53
  We're gonna continue on this topic in our next segment.
• 16:57
  Um, but for now, let me just remind my listeners please go to the shop, take a look, use the coupon code out loud.
• 17:04
  Heck, you might find something for one of your loved ones in that shop that you can help share the gift of health.
• 17:12
  We'll see in just a moment.
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• 20:27
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• 20:35
  So we were talking in last segment about this is the season for giving.
• 20:39
  This is the season where people are really trying to do their best to not only give but be thankful for what um for people that they have in their lives, and also for experiences that are positive and you know, looking forward to the new year and reflecting on what has gone on in the past year, right?
• 21:02
  This is that time of year where we really get to evaluate and see how things went.
• 21:08
  And if you don't like it, guess what?
• 21:10
  You have the power to change it for the next year, right?
• 21:12
  So it's the it's it's having faith, but also having hope because I think hope is super important because that is something that makes you tie your your present into the future and it brings forth what your hopes and dreams and your interests in, you know, when you put these things down and make a vision for yourself.
• 21:33
  This really can expand your new year.
• 21:36
  It can expand your future.
• 21:37
  And so we're gonna do some deep diving on some of my gift giving ideas, and maybe this will help spur some information for you and maybe spur some ideas because I know sometimes it's just really hard.
• 21:52
  It's really hard to think about it.
• 21:53
  So in the last segment, I touched a little bit on giving the the gift of health, like maybe using um getting some passes for a local gym or some local classes, you know, such as maybe some new dance classes, maybe like a hip hop class or ballroom dancing class.
• 22:13
  That's something that you could do with your spouse.
• 22:15
  You know, it doesn't have to be forever, but you can take a session of of dance lessons and maybe learn something new and and share something fun and different, or maybe you'd always like to try a yoga class, do that with a friend.
• 22:29
  You know, that might be something fun to do with a friend, um, or or golf lessons, tennis lessons.
• 22:36
  Like these are all things that could be done in small, inexpensive ways, but can also really bring somebody into um a session where they didn't even know that they liked it, and they may find a new interest or a new hobby, something that is healthy that makes the encourages them to go outside and enjoy life and do something different.
• 22:58
  Something like maybe racquetball or the new craze now for anyone over 50, I think is is pickable.
• 23:04
  Um, these pickleball courts are coming up all over the place.
• 23:08
  So pickleball is a good option as well.
• 23:10
  Um, and I think that would be fun.
• 23:12
  Grab grab some session passes for a couple of friends and and make it a day, you know, go there.
• 23:18
  How about how about a range?
• 23:20
  You know, maybe you guys are into um firearms and you want to learn how to shoot, or you want some lessons on safety.
• 23:30
  Those things are available locally all around.
• 23:33
  You know, I live in Texas, so we have ranges everywhere, and we have great instructors and we have great people that can teach you things like target shooting, which is phenomenal.
• 23:43
  It's a it's a great experience in patience and in um really learning muscle control, believe it or not.
• 23:52
  It's it's excellent for eye hand coordination.
• 23:54
  So there's a lot of positives in the shooting sports, and I think that would be something that if someone has that interest, um, go for it.
• 24:03
  I think that's great, or archery, archery is another one, right?
• 24:06
  Archery is is kind of a lost art.
• 24:08
  We used to all do that when we were kids, going to summer camp, and I don't think they really do it too much anymore.
• 24:14
  But archery is also a great opportunity for um you to learn a new skill again, eye hand coordination.
• 24:22
  It's amazing for that.
• 24:24
  Plus, it's kind of fun, especially if you're a bit on the competitive side.
• 24:28
  Maybe you can go with your friend and and really um challenge each other to maybe uh who whoever gets the best score or the bullseye or whatever takes the other one out for dinner or something.
• 24:41
  Um, how about a health basket?
• 24:42
  Now, again, you have to know your friends and family pretty well in order to um get something like a health basket together.
• 24:50
  But there are people that would really appreciate a basket that had some detox bombs in there, maybe some detox elixirs or get better fast elixir, or some um good feel good products, you know, maybe um something that softens up your hands or is a new facial product or has a facial session gift card in there for you to go and get that experience, or maybe it has things, you know, the foot product stuff is always fun.
• 25:24
  You know, these are things that are kind of like your mini spa day basket in your own home.
• 25:30
  But people appreciate that, they really do because that's something maybe they don't have time to go during the regular office hours, the regular spa hours, but maybe on some quiet evening they want to just do that in the quiet and peace of their own home, and that really helps them relax.
• 25:46
  Massagers.
• 25:47
  Now, those things don't have to be expensive, you know.
• 25:50
  There's there's chair massagers that you could just plug in and put on a chair and sit there.
• 25:54
  Of course, there's also those real fancy multi-thousand dollar massagers that are fantastic as well.
• 26:00
  But you know, maybe you're gifting that to yourself, who knows?
• 26:04
  But um, those massagers really do make a difference, and people really enjoy things like that, or you can try something different.
• 26:13
  How about a float session?
• 26:15
  Float sessions are the ultimate absence of all stimuli.
• 26:21
  You know, you lay in these floats, and and it's just amazing what comes out of it when you're done.
• 26:28
  Um, that's something I've never tried, but I've always thought about it.
• 26:31
  So maybe that's something I treat myself too, or I'll give drop the hint.
• 26:35
  Let's see if anyone picks it up, right?
• 26:38
  Um, massages.
• 26:39
  Some people love massages, and some people would find it fantastic if you gave them a massage session.
• 26:46
  Um, or detox session.
• 26:49
  Maybe they're thinking about purchasing a red light and you purchase for them a red light session where they can experience it and see if it's for them, right?
• 26:58
  Why, why should they put forth a huge expense and uh and a large investment if it's something they're not gonna use every day.
• 27:07
  Um, also a salt room session.
• 27:10
  So there's salt rooms that are in some gyms, they're they're also standalone, and those are great places even to have a meeting.
• 27:17
  So if you want a friend, if you want your friends to like really enjoy a salt room session, maybe have sponsor a book club in there, or just rent it for an hour and have a girls' day, you know, gossip session or something.
• 27:33
  You know, there's so many things that you could do, but those salt rooms are really phenomenal, and they do make your skin feel great, your breathing eases, and it's a really relaxing experience.
• 27:43
  So that may be something too to think about because as you breathe in that salt air, it really does help break down mucus, it increases dilatation of your bronchioles, and so it does make things just feel so much better.
• 27:57
  Um do it with a friend, do it with a spouse, do it with a group of friends, you know.
• 28:02
  These are things too that you you can gift to others, but also benefit from yourself for yourself as well, right?
• 28:11
  Um, I love things like that where you have maybe a farm to market experience.
• 28:16
  I don't know if you have those farm to market um in some of our markets.
• 28:23
  We actually have vendors that do these experiences a couple of times a year, and so this is something that you might want to look into at the farmers market and maybe buy an experience and bring your loved ones to this experience and let them experience it too, and maybe pass it forward, right?
• 28:43
  You're you're benefiting by shopping local and doing something locally, something different, something unique.
• 28:50
  You're also experiencing phenomenal food, most likely, because if it's a farm to market experience, those are usually food products that they either make on their own or with farm organic ingredients only anyway.
• 29:05
  And so that may be a phenomenal experience for you.
• 29:08
  You know, there may be organic chefs that will do a dinner party or a luncheon.
• 29:13
  I mean, these are things or brunch, you know, these are things that are so unique and cool.
• 29:19
  And you know, as you get older, you don't need the stuff, right?
• 29:22
  We want to make memories, we don't want to make a mess.
• 29:25
  And so that's another.
• 29:29
  Um, or one of those um guided painting sessions, you know, like paint with a twist was a big thing down here for a while.
• 29:36
  Um, and I'm sure they still have things like that.
• 29:38
  Make your own pottery, paint your own pottery, paint your, you know, paint a picture with a group.
• 29:45
  That always is a lot of fun.
• 29:47
  It really does spark the creativity part of the side of side of your brain.
• 29:51
  When you're doing art, you're you're usually very relaxed and your creative mind really kind of kicks in.
• 29:59
  Um,
• 30:00
  And it's it's just something different.
• 30:02
  Again, it's a it's breaking up the mundane.
• 30:05
  And that's what you have to celebrate the mundane all the time.
• 30:08
  I tell people this all the time.
• 30:10
  Yeah, you know, the day-to-day does get kind of dreary and run down and a little over the top.
• 30:16
  But find the beauty in your day-to-day.
• 30:19
  You have to celebrate the mundane.
• 30:20
  Like, what are you thankful for about the mundane?
• 30:23
  I am thankful every time I open up my garage door and park in my garage.
• 30:28
  I am thankful I have a garage because there were many, many years I didn't have a garage.
• 30:32
  And um, actually, my car got broken into when I didn't have a garage.
• 30:37
  Um, but those are things, you know, it's it's mundane.
• 30:40
  I go in and out of my garage every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.
• 30:45
  And it's just another experience that I have to really sit back and go, wow.
• 30:49
  You know, I am so thankful that I have a garage.
• 30:53
  I have the opportunity to live in a home that has a garage, right?
• 30:57
  Celebrate the mundane, celebrate the fact that you can have a grill on your back porch and you can make burgers for your family or roast vegetables on that grill, or and just have a family experience, an outdoor, beautiful day, dinner, you know, watch the sunset.
• 31:17
  Have a brunch where you watch the sunrise, right?
• 31:23
  Sunrise.
• 31:24
  My kids are famous for getting up super early and running down to the beach and watching the sunrise.
• 31:29
  They think that's the coolest thing ever.
• 31:31
  And I think that's an amazing thing that they do as well.
• 31:34
  And that just warms my heart that those kids are really very, very into nature and want to watch the sunrise.
• 31:43
  That's every that's extremely therapeutic.
• 31:45
  And I love it that my kids in the summertime, they do that multiple times in the summer with friends.
• 31:51
  They'll wake up their friends super early in the morning and they either take a walk or ride down to the beach, sit on the beach and just wait for the sun to come up.
• 31:59
  Or they go to the park.
• 32:01
  We can walk to our park right here.
• 32:03
  It's on the bay.
• 32:04
  We can sit out there and just watch and wait for that sunrise.
• 32:08
  And it's absolutely glorious and beautiful.
• 32:10
  And it's just relaxing and it's a reset.
• 32:13
  You know, and this is something you could do literally every day.
• 32:17
  The sun rises every day, the sun sets every day.
• 32:21
  Take part in the beauty of nature and get out there and ground and do something of that nature.
• 32:28
  What about what about gifts that you can give that cost nothing?
• 32:33
  There are many of us that are on a really strict bit budget.
• 32:37
  You know, maybe you just had a rough go year, but you still want to celebrate people and help, you know, be with them.
• 32:44
  Well, why don't you just schedule an experience, right?
• 32:48
  I tell this to people all the time.
• 32:49
  You know, I used to do something called um walk walk in leadership.
• 32:55
  And it was a Saturday morning session where we would walk for about an hour to an hour and a half.
• 33:01
  We walked anywhere from two and a half miles to five miles, depending on you know the fitness of people.
• 33:08
  And it was great.
• 33:10
  We had a great time.
• 33:11
  We would we would talk, we're in nature.
• 33:14
  We sometimes would stop if the alligator was swimming down the bayou.
• 33:18
  We would stop and look at the alligator and watch the birds, um, other creatures that would come across our path like rabbits.
• 33:25
  Um, that was pretty common on our walk.
• 33:27
  Sometimes you see a weird-looking bug, not my favorite, but usually, you know, you can do that.
• 33:33
  Sometimes snakes, which is also not my favorite.
• 33:35
  But you know, it's all it's all about being in nature, and that costs nothing.
• 33:40
  You know, give someone a coupon of your time.
• 33:43
  A coupon of your time.
• 33:45
  That is something that is above and beyond.
• 33:48
  Or, you know, if you're an older individual, let's just say you're you're kind of you're on the second half of your life like I am.
• 33:55
  I don't want stuff.
• 33:57
  Right.
• 33:57
  I tell this to my kids all the time.
• 33:58
  I do not want stuff.
• 34:00
  I would much rather we just go and do something.
• 34:03
  Let's make a memory, right?
• 34:05
  Well, what if I found something that I knew that a friend really enjoyed or really liked or commented on or complimented me on, and I wrapped that up as an extension of myself and gave it to my friend.
• 34:21
  It cost me nothing.
• 34:22
  It's something that is sentimental to them and to me.
• 34:25
  And now it locks in memories for someone else to now engage using that object or whatever it is, you know.
• 34:33
  It could be an ornament that you both, you know, maybe you went somewhere, or maybe you um maybe you had an experience together.
• 34:41
  You know, you could buy an ornament or something similar, some kind of little object that reminds you of your friend and give that to them.
• 34:51
  That is a heartfelt gift.
• 34:54
  And that is something that every once in a while, one of my friends will send me um a little heartfelt gift like that.
• 35:01
  And I cherish it.
• 35:02
  I think it's just so awesome that they thought of me.
• 35:06
  This reminded them of me, and they gave me this object or this saying, or sometimes it's a a little framed print with a with a verse on it, or it may be um I got a framed saying on there about, you know, you know, I don't even remember.
• 35:27
  It was like a friendship thing, but it was it was phenomenal.
• 35:29
  And then I had another one, another person give me a frame with my name in it and all the adjectives that she they were positive adjectives, by the way.
• 35:39
  Lots of adjectives that described me.
• 35:42
  And I just thought that was the most heartfelt gift.
• 35:45
  And I had no idea.
• 35:46
  I'm reading these words and I was weeping because truly I didn't know that people looked at me in this way and thought of me in these in these terms.
• 35:54
  And it was it, it really is something that is easy to do, it's easy to make, it's super low cost, and it really really shows your friend how much you care for them and how much you admire them or how much you think of them on the daily.
• 36:11
  You know, that's a that's a super cool gift.
• 36:14
  Um, handmade items.
• 36:16
  I love handmade items.
• 36:17
  I'm kind of one of those weirdos.
• 36:18
  I love things that are handmade.
• 36:20
  I love things that are recycled, upcycled, found in resale shops.
• 36:25
  You know, there's there's certain things like I hate to say collect because that's getting a little old at this point, but there are certain things that I really admire.
• 36:33
  And when someone finds a piece at a resale shop that was super duper cheap and hands it over to me, I think that is a phenomenal, phenomenal gift.
• 36:42
  So, you know, think of these things.
• 36:44
  These are not things that have to be super high dollar monetarily.
• 36:48
  It could be something that you know they just enjoy, or maybe it's something that you give them that reminds them that you are thinking of them, or this reminds them uh reminds you of them.
• 37:03
  And so it's also another thing that every time I look at that, they go, Oh, that was from my friend who thought of me because fill in the blank, right?
• 37:11
  Well, we are actually at another hard break, believe it or not.
• 37:15
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• 37:22
  The chemical-free body has a bunch of products there.
• 37:25
  Don't forget to use that coupon code out loud, and I'll see you in the next segment.
• 37:29
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• 37:49
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• 37:53
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• 37:56
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• 38:01
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• 38:08
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• 38:12
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• 38:56
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• 40:08
  And we're back.
• 40:09
  This is our last segment of this looking for healing show.
• 40:14
  I am your host, Dr.
• 40:15
  Angie Farrella.
• 40:16
  Thank you so much for joining me in this podcast.
• 40:20
  And don't forget that when you're in the know, you want to share your knowledge with others.
• 40:25
  If you appreciate what I'm doing in my podcast or other hosts in other podcasts, please share this podcast.
• 40:32
  As you know, this radio show airs on a Monday morning, but we go to podcasts first thing on Tuesday.
• 40:39
  And that is somewhere that you can direct your friends and family and people that you know to that podcast and share it with them.
• 40:49
  Because if you enjoyed it and you learned from it and it gave you some value, don't you think that if you shared it with others, it may give them some value too.
• 40:58
  I mean, this is another free way of sharing the gift of knowledge, sharing the gift of experience.
• 41:06
  And you know, you always share a gift, right?
• 41:08
  I tell my kids this all the time.
• 41:10
  I tell my friends this all the time.
• 41:12
  You know, you if there's something that you feel is worthwhile that they should know, it's actually a gift to share it with them.
• 41:20
  Now, what they do with that gift is a whole different situation, right?
• 41:24
  I mean, they can take it or leave it, but the fact if you withhold it and it's something they do need, you're you're doing a great disservice to your friends and family.
• 41:33
  So, like I said, if you find something that you enjoy, um, my podcast, other podcasts, share that.
• 41:40
  I love it when people tell me, Hey, have you heard about XYZ?
• 41:44
  And I'll say no, and they share um a video with me, or they share a podcast with me.
• 41:51
  And I can really appreciate that they thought of me when they were listening to this podcast or listening to this clip, and they send it and share it with me.
• 42:01
  I think it's a great, great service.
• 42:03
  We should all be very part of that community because when you're in the know and they're in the know, then there are very few things that can catch us by surprise.
• 42:13
  And that's what America Out Loud dot news is all about.
• 42:16
  So please look on there.
• 42:18
  There's many, many different subject matter um hosts, and it's just a fun place to be.
• 42:26
  We we really do know quite a few of the other um podcasters and the other contributors, and they're all great people, and they all have great content, and they all have something to share that is valuable.
• 42:40
  So that's a great gift.
• 42:42
  Give them the gift of America Outloud.news.
• 42:45
  Give them the great gift of this podcast.
• 42:47
  That is a fun thing to do, and you know, that gives you some conversation starters for the future, right?
• 42:54
  Again, you know, we're here in the gift of giving, and I and I talk a lot about being thankful, and I love the positive reinforcement statements, attestations that you can do in the morning.
• 43:06
  Um, because we're really hard on ourselves, you know, that the whole part of the world where I just keep calling it organized chaos because honestly, that's our world.
• 43:17
  Our world is organized chaos, and it does not help that you know, we have social media, which is which is instantaneous, and sometimes it brings a lot of uh disturbing feelings.
• 43:31
  And this time of year, you really do need to focus on the positive.
• 43:36
  This time of year, we are now in the winter months.
• 43:38
  We all know that the winter days are much shorter and darker than those of the spring and summer, and so it is super important to really share positivity to try to get out in nature during the daylight hours and ground yourself, get in the grass, get in, take a walk, breathe the smells of the of the fall and the winter, you know, really try to take advantage of when there's sunshine out there, you should be out there.
• 44:06
  If you can take advantage of that, your outlook is really going to be much more positive.
• 44:11
  It's really hard to combat seasonal affective disorder if you're not taking active part in doing that.
• 44:18
  And how do you do that?
• 44:19
  Well, there's a couple ways, like I just said, you know, we in our last segment, we talked a lot about connecting with our loved ones and giving the gift of health.
• 44:29
  Well, do you realize that human connection is a healthy habit?
• 44:33
  So get in the habit of finding someone that maybe doesn't do well during the winter, maybe they had a loss, maybe they're still grieving.
• 44:40
  Invite them in, maybe not to your home, you know, invite them to for a cup of coffee.
• 44:47
  Invite them to take a walk with you on a nature trail.
• 44:51
  Invite them to just sit with you at the park and chit chat for a little while, or even on the phone, you know, something like that.
• 45:00
  Give, you know, give the gift of your time.
• 45:03
  That is a huge, huge gift.
• 45:06
  You know, it doesn't have to be treasure.
• 45:08
  You know, I always say, you know, that that hospitality is one of the greatest gifts that ever could be given.
• 45:14
  And it's really, really difficult for people to, especially in this day and age, to really entertain their friends and family in their homes because they're always concerned about what the other person thinks, right?
• 45:25
  It's about the hospitality, it's not about that your house doesn't look perfect, or that you don't have you know the the perfect settings on your table, or you don't have the cleanest counters, or you don't have, you know, things of that nature.
• 45:40
  I'm not saying that it should be an absolute mobster mess, but you know, what about just the fact that you're inviting someone in to sit on the couch and have a cup of coffee?
• 45:51
  That's huge.
• 45:52
  People don't do that anymore.
• 45:53
  People don't sit on the porch and in rocking chairs and chit chat about their day or the old days, or it just doesn't happen very much.
• 46:01
  You know, most people go get together once or twice a year, and that's it.
• 46:04
  That's it.
• 46:05
  Even at church service, you know, I always call it the gallery of glee at our church because you can't even walk in the front door without getting hugged four or five times before you even get to the sanctuary.
• 46:16
  So, you know, the gallery of glee in our place is is alive and well.
• 46:20
  So if you're starving, come to CT Community Transformation, Pasadena Church and in Pasadena, Texas, and you will be welcomed with open arms and you will find a family by choice.
• 46:30
  I promise.
• 46:31
  It is an authentic place where you will find followers of Christ.
• 46:36
  And during this season, it is paramount, paramount that you make an effort to just go, you know, go and try to be a part of it because the gift of your time is sometimes more valuable than your treasure, you know.
• 46:57
  And I and I try to tell people, you know, look, it's all about time, talent, and treasure, but it's not always treasure.
• 47:03
  Sometimes it's your talent and your time.
• 47:05
  And so maybe that's something.
• 47:07
  Like, are you a great artist?
• 47:09
  I could tell you, let me just tell you something.
• 47:11
  I absolutely love when people share their talents with me because I am not exactly the most I'm not talented singing.
• 47:21
  I can't sing.
• 47:22
  I wish I could, never could've a note.
• 47:25
  Um, I'm not talented, I'm not a talented musician.
• 47:29
  Um I am, you know, I have my own talents for sure.
• 47:34
  I have my own strengths of for sure, but those are definitely not in my strength column.
• 47:40
  But you know what I do love?
• 47:41
  I love to listen to people play the piano or play the guitar or play music or sing.
• 47:46
  You know, those are talents to be shared, to be shared.
• 47:51
  And so I remember when I was a little girl, you know, my grandmother on my father's side was an immigrant to this country from Italy.
• 48:01
  Um, she came when she was 20 years old, and um, you know, she she had very she didn't know how to read, she taught herself to read here in the United States, she taught herself English.
• 48:13
  Um, she could cook like no other.
• 48:17
  So she taught herself how to cook, and she her greatest talent, of course, was the love she put into her food, right?
• 48:26
  And she would invite the family every Sunday.
• 48:29
  This is something huge that I remember, such a fond memory of this time of year going to my grandmother's house pretty much any Sunday, and knowing there was going to be one food there and two other family members there.
• 48:43
  People would just stop in, just stop in to say hi.
• 48:46
  And Nan never stopped with a boiling water, and she would just put in another, you know, it was funny.
• 48:53
  Like soon as someone would walk in the door, she'd get up, she'd go put another pound of spaghetti in the boiling water because the water never stopped boiling.
• 49:00
  I promise you.
• 49:01
  And um, and and then, you know, here she and she had this huge, huge pot that she made spaghetti sauce in, and um, and of course, we call it gravy, but you know what I'm saying.
• 49:14
  And so, literally, if you ever saw the Prince Spaghetti commercials where Sunday's Prince Spaghetti Day, literally, that was my grandmother's house every Sunday for a great part of my childhood that I remember.
• 49:27
  And um, we went up there a lot.
• 49:28
  She lived about an hour away.
• 49:30
  Um, but we we went up there quite often to go visit Nan and during the holidays.
• 49:35
  Holy smokes, did we have fun?
• 49:36
  You know, all the cousins and second cousins and aunts and uncles and just friends and just piled on my grandmother's house.
• 49:44
  And there was never a lack.
• 49:46
  There was never never a lack for food.
• 49:49
  There was a never lack for companionship.
• 49:51
  There was a never lack for absolute hilarity.
• 49:55
  I mean, they would be all you heard was.
• 50:00
  Lots and lots of talking, like 50 conversations going on at the same time.
• 50:05
  And laughter.
• 50:07
  Where can you get that now?
• 50:09
  Where can you get that nowadays?
• 50:11
  I don't know.
• 50:12
  I mean, to go back to that is just, ugh, I would love to do that again.
• 50:18
  You know, and and I try, you know, when we we don't have a large family up here where I live now, and and uh we don't have a lot of extended family.
• 50:26
  Most of my family is either in another state or um, unfortunately, we've because of distance, um, we've separated in a lot of ways.
• 50:36
  A lot of people have moved different places, and it's just not as easy to get together anymore, you know.
• 50:43
  We're as back in the day, people kind of lived in the same spot.
• 50:47
  We kind of, you know, you might not be in the same town, but you're in a town or two close by or within driving distance, and nowadays it's really not that way.
• 50:55
  But you know, do that with your friends, just have a little shindig with your friends, and it doesn't have to be anything major, like you don't have to do it all.
• 51:04
  Do a pot luck, have people bring stuff and share with you because really that's what they want to.
• 51:10
  They just want to share your time and your love and your talent with them.
• 51:15
  You know, that is something that is so huge that um every once in a while when the weather gets a little bit warmer.
• 51:21
  We try to do movie nights outside where we um you know, literally just play a movie against the side of the house, and it's fun.
• 51:29
  We pop copcorn, we hang outside.
• 51:32
  Most of the time we don't even watch the movie because we're too busy yip-yapping.
• 51:36
  And um, but it's fun.
• 51:38
  We have a great time doing that.
• 51:40
  And so I really look forward to doing more of that this spring.
• 51:43
  And um just trying to get people together again, right?
• 51:47
  In this day and age, we are separated.
• 51:49
  You know, we have the most convenient um apparatus, right?
• 51:55
  So we all have cell phones, we have video, I don't even FaceTime videos that you can do and be in real time and talk with people on the video chat, but it's not the same as being in person, you know, that human touch is huge, it's absolutely huge.
• 52:11
  And I really encourage you if there is something that you want to put on your you know, New Year's resolution.
• 52:17
  How about get together with my friends and family more?
• 52:20
  I I'm gonna put that on the very top of mine, and and I'm gonna try to give the gift of me throughout the year.
• 52:28
  I'm just just gonna try to give the gift of my time to others and and just hang out because the gift is more of a gift to myself than it is to them anyway.
• 52:40
  They may agree or disagree, but you know, sit around a bonfire, sit around, sit around a grill and cook some burgers, or not even do that, take a walk on the beach, you know, hang out at the beach.
• 52:52
  Let's just all meet at the beach and sit on the sit on the sand, watch the sunset, um, grab a few snacks and just hang out there and just be just be.
• 53:04
  Just be there for each other.
• 53:05
  I think that is a huge thing that we have to challenge ourselves, you know, years ago.
• 53:11
  I used to drive around with sticky notes.
• 53:15
  And whenever I felt compelled, or you know, and and some people will say, Oh, that's the Holy Spirit talking to you, or sometimes it's a a radio song, you know, you're on the you're driving around, you hear a song, and it just makes you think of somebody.
• 53:28
  Um, and so I used to keep a sticky note handy because if I stopped to get gas, for instance, and something like really shattered my world that day, I would write it down on the sticky note and literally stick it on the um gas pump.
• 53:42
  Um, and it would be it, it was always words of affirmation, or um, you know, maybe a verse I heard or a line that I heard from a song, or maybe it was just an uplifting thought that crossed my mind that I felt someone else needed to see and need to and needed to hear.
• 54:01
  And so I used to do that.
• 54:03
  I probably should get into that habit again too.
• 54:05
  But sticky notes were like the thing.
• 54:07
  I had a sticky note, I had a little pack of sticky notes and a pen always in my car so that I could write things down and like stick it to people's cars, stick it to the gas pumps, you know, bring if you went into a convenience store, which I don't necessarily do that often, but when you go in there and just kind of stick a sticky note anywhere, put it on a shopping cart, it's really fun.
• 54:28
  You know, if you sit back and watch people and they find that sticky note, it really does make people's day.
• 54:33
  So, you know, I think we should make a resolution also, not just for getting together with friends and family more, but try to be the light in someone's life every day, right?
• 54:43
  And it may be someone you don't even know, which is even more fun, I think, but and you may not even know the impact.
• 54:49
  You might just stick that sticky note somewhere in the hope that someone finds it.
• 54:55
  Maybe they find it, maybe they maybe you know, and maybe that's something that if it doesn't fulfill them, they might just leave it there and maybe it'll fulfill another person or a third person, or maybe it did fulfill them, but they left it because they wanted someone else to feel the same way, right?
• 55:13
  So let's try to do that.
• 55:14
  Let's just try to bring the world the gift of hope, the gift of faith, the gift of love, the gift of positivity.
• 55:23
  These are free.
• 55:25
  These are free gifts to give.
• 55:27
  And in this time of giving and thanksgiving, I think this is just another thought that crossed my mind.
• 55:34
  Um, that we can do to really help one another because this world can be really dark and really closed in, especially during the winter months, because again, this can all, you know, it's a great, it's a great season for joy, it's a great season for laughter, it's a great season of togetherness, but it it can be very chaotic for people, it can be very anxiety provoking for people.
• 55:57
  It could be grief-provoking.
• 56:00
  There are people that are still grieving, and there is no time frame on grief.
• 56:05
  I still grieve my mom who died, I don't know, 18 years ago.
• 56:11
  18 years ago.
• 56:13
  I grieve her every day.
• 56:14
  So there's no time frame on that, you know, because grief is something that you lost that shouldn't that you just feel in your heart it shouldn't be, right?
• 56:24
  And I have to really put a shout out to um Nathan's self, he's he was our pastor today, and he actually inspired this message today.
• 56:33
  So, Nathan, you and Abby are awesome, you're a light of the world.
• 56:37
  Nathan's a young guy, much younger.
• 56:40
  He could be my kid, actually.
• 56:41
  Um, but man, he has the gift of connection, he has the gift of spirituality.
• 56:50
  He is just a light, he is a beacon of light in this very dark world.
• 56:56
  So thank you, Nathan, for your wonderful sermon today at church, and you're doing a stand-up job standing in for our pastors who are on sabbatical, but wow, our church is really something else.
• 57:10
  I I love our church.
• 57:11
  I I really love being there.
• 57:13
  I'm so glad that I chose this family by choice, and I want you to choose too.
• 57:18
  Choose today, choose to give a gift.
• 57:21
  It could be free.
• 57:22
  I hope this podcast was a gift to you.
• 57:25
  Thank you so much for being with me today.
• 57:27
  God bless.
• 57:28
  Merry Christmas, happy new year.
• 57:31
  We'll talk soon.
• 57:32
  Bye-bye,